Students will receive scientific literature, recorded lectures, and open-ended questions to build knowledge in neuroscience and cutting-edge neurotechnology. The Jump Start Classes will be provided to students in a virtual format, and they are required to attend the in-person summer camp. These classes provide the necessary foundation of knowledge for student success during the in-person camps. The Cai lab will offer regular office hours to discuss these topics in more detail and address student questions.
Sign-up will be available starting on February 1, 2026, with the classes becoming available on April 1, 2026.
The Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Jump Start classes are broken into 9 modules:
(I) Nervous System Anatomy
(II) Neuronal Cell Biology
(III) Drosophila as a model system
(IV) Transgenic Animals
(V) Multispectral Labeling and Fluorescence Microscopy
(VI) Optogenetics & Thermogenetics
(VII) Image and Video Analysis
(VIII) AI and Behavior Analysis
(IX) Informatics & Neuron Subtype Analysis